Interesting treasure lead from a relative

[joe dirt_1]

My uncle told me about a house he lived at about 35 to 40 years ago that when he was digging up a sewer line that he hit a rusted bucket of lead slugs that were quarter and nickel sized with the the likeness of the coins on the back of the slugs only with smooth fronts. Mixed in with the slugs was lots of dimes, pennies, and nickels.....according to my uncle, enough genuine coins to almost fill a 10 qt. galvanized bucket. I remember visiting my relatives at this house when I was around 10 or 12 years old and know exactly where it is located and where to dig to find the lead slugs my uncle reburied because he was afraid of being busted for having counterfit coins.

According to my uncle the house was previously owned by a man that ran a business of slot machines in bars and dance halls. I'm not sure if the lead slugs were from customers poking them in the slots instead of quarters, but why would he bury genuine coins with the slugs too? My uncle seemed to think he probably buried more buckets in the yard but never found or even searched for others. All of the coins he found were older coins... the dimes were all silver dimes, not sure about the nickels and pennies though. I asked what happened to the coins he found and they were rolled and taken to the bank after they were found.

my question is would the lead slugs be considered counterfit coins since they have one side stamped to resemble a genuine coin? I don't want the federal boys on my butt if I happened to dig up the slugs my uncle reburied in the yard and search for other buried containers of slugs and coins. The yard is small and on the east side where the slugs and coins were found it is only maybe 12' wide to the property line so it won't be hard to find anything buried there. There could be several buckets buried in the side yard and I would love to find them. What do you think...are the slugs considered counterfit coins or what? I have dreamed of finding a cache and this could be it....but want to avoid trouble too. Whadda you guys think??????..................................Roger

 

[Hombre]

n/t

 

[The Bat]

Joe Dirt, I am a police officer and you wouldn't be in any trouble if you dug them up. As long as you don't try to pass them off as real money yourself, they would be no more than a novelty. I would take some pics as documentation. Again I wouldn't worry about it at all as long as you don't try to spend them as real money. I wouldn't hesitate at all trying to dig them up. You could even let your local Law Enforcement know you were going to try to dig them up although I wouldn't worry to much about that. But it would show that you didn't come by them by any other means than a tip and some old stories, they would know you didn't try to manufacture or counterfeit them yourself. I do it in a heartbeat. Good luck and let us know how it comes out. In the real world when we find counterfeit money on the beat we take it to the property room and sign a release form, releasing it to the Secret Service and they investigate it.

 

[osgood]

I have no law enforcement background, but that was my first thought. You had nothing to do with their manufacture, nor be putting them into circulation. If in doubt i think the a fore mentioned advice on documentation and even notification to your local constable would do the trick in putting to rest any anxieties. I think we would all like you to find those buckets and jars full of real silver, yikes. Would love to see one of those tipped over without a lid on. Good Luck, CO

 

[joe dirt_1]

Thanks for your replies guys, it sounds like I'm ok as far as the counterfit coin part goes, and of course i'm not going to try to pass them off if I do get to dig them up. I didn't want to take any chances until I found out the laws about them. It sure would be a thrill finding another container of coins buried in the yard. Still can't figure out why the guy buried genuine coins along with the lead slugs though, but this is the story my uncle told me and I have no reason to doubt him.

Now I need to contact the present owner for permission to search the yard. I'm not sure if I should even mention what my uncle found there years ago or to tell them what he found and offer to split whatever I find with them. If I tell him what was found he might say no and look for himself. Chances are there could be other containers buried in the yard and my uncle just happened to hit one of them while digging up the sewer line. My uncle said he reburied the slugs and that they were very shallow in the ground. My cz5 would surely give an overload signal on something that big and shallow. Just gotta figure out the best approach of the owner to gain permission to search. thanks again for the advice......Roger

ps...you can be sure if I find them you will be seeing pictures on here...lol

 

[ToniSteve]

Get a signed contract for what ever deal you establish with the owner.

Best Regards,
Steve

 

[Hombre]

Get a signed contract for what ever deal you establish with the owner.

Best Regards,
Steve

Excuse me for being blunt, but I think that a contract would scare most people off. In todays litigation prone society........most people would shy away from a written contract.

Face to Face contact has worked for the Wife and I to gain permission to hunt private propery. She is 'easy on the eyes' which helps alot. Just be straight forward with the property owner.

We just strike up a conversation with the owner and explain a little bit about our hobby to them. This usually breaks the 'ice' and we have had good luck with this kind of approach.

Just watch the History Chanel " American Pickers" TV show.........Those guys are pros at getting permission to 'pick' from propery owners. I have seen them 'strike out' but they score quite a bit too!

Randy

 

[Jay Evans]

No worry about getting in trouble with the lead slugs. After all you didn't make them and are'nt trying to pass them as real coins. I agree with Hombre..... strike up good ole conversation with the folks and they'll probably let you search. if you have an extra detector you might loan the land owner one and gain a new person/persons to our great hobby too. ya never know till you ask.....
Good Luck!

 

[mrwilburino]

You're going to need a pretty good size shovel to dig up a 10 quart bucket. How are you going to explain THAT to the guy? Or the fact that you're digging a big hole in his lawn. You're going to have to find some way of being truthful about it without giving the whole story away. I would have a lawyer draw up a contract beforehand. That will show the homeowner that you are serious about what you expect to find and it will protect you in the event that you find something. Otherwise the guy will just keep all the cash and have the cops take you away for trespassing and property damage.

 

[joe dirt_1]

I'm going to ask permission to search the owners yard without giving away too much information about what I'm looking for. I figure if I disclose too much information it will be harder to get permission to hunt. I will search the yard and look for big overload signals first and see how many I find. Maybe there was only one container buried in the yard.
Thanks for all the advice offered....it's greatly appreciated.............Roger